RapidShare Slows Downloads for Free Users

RapidShare has decided to lower download speeds for free users in the wake of the shutdown of Megaupload. The announcement from RapidShare comes after free users noticed their download speeds getting down around 30kb/s. The site has been experiencing an influx of traffic since the shutdown of Megaupload, which it attributes to copyright infringers looking for a new haven for their activities. Some may see this as a way for the company to push its premium service on users to get the best speeds, but the company feels differently, “We have thus decided to take a painful yet effective step: to reduce the download speed for free users. We are confident that this will make RapidShare very unpopular amongst pirates and thus drive the abusive traffic away.” RapidShare feels that pirates are less likely to pay for the service as they don't want their information to an account that downloaded pirated content. The company will offer a way around the speed cap for users that demonstrate the files they offer are for legitimate purposes.